Download Calorie Calculator
Danny Casgrain
This calorie calculator will help you estimate the number of calories you're burning each day, plus a daily calorie target to help you lose weight, add muscle, or maintain your current weight. This can be your launch pad to gain better control of your nutrition and better results while working toward your goals!
Your calorie count should put you in a slight caloric deficit of around 200-700 calories. This can help you establish a consistent, sustainable pace of weight loss. Here are your next steps to lose weight:
Calories aren't just calories! They're actually values that come from the macronutrients of protein, fats, and carbohydrates (as well as alcohol). Paul Salter, RD, can show you how to dial yours in for your goal in the article, "Macronutrient Calculator: Find Your Macro Ratio for Flexible Dieting and IIFYM."
Supplements can help you accelerate your results once you have your calories and training in place. Krissy Kendall, Ph.D., shares her recommendations in the article, "5 Ways to Up Your Fat-Loss Supplement Game."
Your calorie count should put you in a slight caloric surplus of around 500 calories. This can help you establish a consistent, sustainable pace of weight gain. Here are your next steps to gain muscle:
Supplements can help you accelerate your muscle-building results once you have your calories and training nailed. Krissy Kendall, Ph.D., shares her recommendations in the article, "8 Proven Supplements for Muscle Growth and Strength."
Calories aren't just calories! They're actually values that come from the macronutrients of protein, fats, and carbohydrates (as well as alcohol). Paul Salter, RD, can show you how to dial yours in for your goal in the article, Macronutrient Calculator: Find Your Macro Ratio for Flexible Dieting and IIFYM."
Supplements can help you accelerate your results and support your training once you have your calories and training in place. Chris Lockwood, Ph.D., shares what to take and why in the article, "Start Here: The Most Important Supplements for Every Body."
First time counting calories? Or not sure which goal is right for you? Then start with "maintenance." In theory, this is where you will eat the same amount of calories that you burn and maintain your current weight. Many nutritionists say before you start cutting calories, you should spend some time at maintenance and get more comfortable with tracking your foods and portion sizes.
If you know that you're ready to lose a few pounds and you've counted calories before, select "lose weight." This will give you a target that is usually 200-700 calories below maintenance. This is a popular "sweet spot" for healthy, sustainable weight loss.
This choice should reflect the amount of activity in your life based on how you exercise and how physically active your life and/or job is. Nutritional researchers agree calorie estimates should take more into account than just the amount you exercise. Here's how to figure out what's right for you:
Weighing food may seem like a lot of counting and not much fun, but it gets easier over time. Fitness coach Vince Del Monte says in the article, "From Here to Macros: 4 Steps to Better Nutrition" that you quickly learn to "eyeball" quantities of both calories and macronutrients after just a few weeks of practice.
This is essential information if you want your calorie counts to be reliable! Not into doing complicated math? Then maybe pre-portioned foods like tuna fish, protein bars, or packaged nuts are a good choice for you. These sorts of calorie-counting hacks can be lifesavers!
One more "secret" that's increasingly well-known: eat enough protein! A major study in 2018 found that as long as your calories are under control and you're eating enough protein, different weight-loss diets work with about the same degree of effectiveness.
People judge the intensity of their activities differently. And activity levels can change over time. So think of your calorie estimate as a starting point and adjust it up or down as you alter your activity level.
Disclaimer: This tool is designed to be used only by veterinary professionals. For obese pets with a body condition score of 7/9 or higher, we advise a weight loss program under the direct guidance of the veterinary health care team. This calculator is only a guideline. Regular monitoring and consideration of outside factors is critical for achieving safe and healthy weight management outcomes. PNA may adjust the formulations based on new data findings.
The "Extreme Fat Loss" level is the lowest calorie level you should ever try. Do not attempt to immediately drop your calories to this level hoping for a quick fix. This may ultimately backfire.
Most people lose muscle mass when restricting calories. Body recomposition takes real effort. It requires a delicate tweak of daily calories, combined with a comprehensive workout plan.
Research shows that young adults who use calorie-tracking apps to monitor how many calories they consume may be more at risk for developing disordered eating patterns that could develop into eating disorders (36).
That said, for people who are not at risk for developing disordered eating habits, restricting how much you eat can be a successful weight loss strategy, at least in the short term (37). However, eating too few calories may also slow your metabolism, making it harder to maintain weight loss in the long term (5).
How many calories you need per day depends on whether you want to maintain, lose, or gain weight, as well as various other factors, such as your sex, age, height, current weight, activity level, and metabolic health.
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is an estimation of how many calories you burn per day when exercise is taken into account. It is calculated by first figuring out your Basal Metabolic Rate, then multiplying that value by an activity multiplier.
Since your BMR represents how many calories your body burns when at rest, it is necessary to adjust the numbers upwards to account for the calories you burn during the day. This is true even for those with a sedentary lifestyle. Our TDEE calculator uses the best formulas and displays your score in a way that's easy to read and meaningful.
To determine the number of Calories burned per hour during your workout, Concept2 Performance Monitors use a formula based on a 175 pound/79.5 kg individual. Use this Calorie calculator to better approximate the number of Calories per hour you burn for your weight, as well as the total Calorie burn for your workout.
A calorie is a unit of energy. Generally, a calorie refers to energy consumption through food and beverage consumption and the amount of energy usage spent through physical activity. Everyone requires different amounts of energy per day depending on their age, size, and activity levels. Using the calculator above will help you determine your specific daily caloric needs.
In order to maintain your current weight, you must consume the same number of calories as you burn. Conversely, if you want to lose weight, this can be accomplished by consuming less calories or burning more calories. If you wish to consume less throughout your day, you will want to eat 500-1,000 fewer calories per day than calculated, or as an alternative, eat 15-20% fewer calories than calculated.
To lose weight, you will need to reduce your daily caloric intake below your total daily calorie requirement indicated by your BMR plus your activity level. A few ways to increase your activity levels range from dedicating more time to working out or finding little ways to stay more active throughout the day.
consider getting a treadmill at home. Having a treadmill at your home is a great way to workout without taking the time to drive to the gym. To save even more time in your day, a treadmill desk or bike desk enables you to burn calories while staying productive. Studies show that using a treadmill desk or bike desk while you work can even improve your focus and boost your productivity.
You can use the macro calculator to calculate and tweak your protein, fat, and carbohydrate macronutrients. You can use this as a bulking calculator (i.e. weight gain calculator), cutting calculator (i.e. weight loss calculator), or even a maintenance calculator (i.e. how many calories to stay the same weight).
The calorie calculator serves as a great cutting or bulking calculator. It can be used to calculate your maintenance calories. Eating more than this will result in weight gain. Eating less than this will result in weight loss.
The keto calculator allows you to set a limit on the amount of carbs you consume. It also allows you to input a set amount of protein per pound of your bodyweight. The remaining calories will go to your fat macros.
Your activity level is primarily based on what you do outside the gym. Four 1 hour strength training sessions at the gym each week is less than 2 hours of actual activity. It does not result in a large number of calories burnt.
Couple this with the increased satiety (fullness factor) of protein, and the practical implication is that most people should up their protein levels when going from a calorie surplus to a calorie deficit.
Use the calculated values as a solid approximation. Adjust your estimate as required based on your weight loss/gain during the first few weeks of your diet. If you need help with this, ask. If you need ideas on what to eat, here is a bunch of healthy low calorie foods.
Below I explain the specifics of how each factor affects your base value. Note that the calorie calculator automatically does this math for you. This is just an explanation of the logic behind the calculator, for those interested.
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